International Year of Freshwater: a viewpoint from Central Asia. (Guest Column).

Water is one of the basic necessities of human life arid a key component of development. It is major resource for food production, for improving the well-being of society and for maintaining economic growth. Water is necessary for the normal functioning of all of Earth's ecosystems.

The proportion of fresh water, according to several estimates varies from 0.25 to 0.50 per cent of the entire hydrosphere of the planet. Unfortunately, there are serious lags in many parts of the world: approximately one sixth of the global population has no access to pure drinking water, and one third lacks access to water for household needs. If the present disturbing trends persist, two out of three inhabitants of the planet will soon be living in countries suffering from "water stress". Global climate change may aggravate the problem even further. Based on these facts, we can assert with confidence that impossible to ensure the stable development of society without achieving the goal, set by the Millennium Declaration and endorsed in the final documents of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, to halve by year 2015 the proportion of people without access to pure drinking water and adequate sanitation.

It should not be forgotten that a shortage of water also generates a number of ethical problems. Access should be recognized as one of the basic human rights--water should become the common property of mankind. Rational and fair management of water resources would mean greater access to water and sanitation for all and minimization of possible conflicts caused by lack of water. It is common knowledge that water is already a frequent cause of political tension in relationships between States. One of the central tasks of the international community with regard to water resources management should be conflict prevention. This would be possible only in the context of respect for the sovereignty of the neighbouring States and consideration for their specific historical, cultural and economic circumstances.

In view of the whole complex of water resources problems, and the urgency of mobilizing the political will of all Member States of the United Nations to resolve them, the Republic of Tajikistan proposed that the UN General Assembly proclaim 2003 as the International Year of Freshwater, which was widely acclaimed by 149 countries. The events to be held during the Year will provide the necessary environment for a full-scale fulfillment of all decisions on water adopted within the framework of recent major UN forums.

These will allow the global community to concentrate its attention on the development of effective strategies at every level--international, regional, sub-regional and national--for the long-term preservation of qualitative water resources and their subsequent rational use. The Year will provide a good opportunity for pulling together efforts that are already being made or planned by countries in connection with water resources management, so as to solve problems on all levels. We recognize that solutions should be sought through a combination of adequate support on the part of the international community and the efforts of the countries and sub-regions experiencing problems in water resources. The launch of the International Year enables us once again to consider the challenges of water use that exist in various countries and regions, and work towards a solution. Good objects of such analysis can be the countries of Central Asia, where the role of fresh water as a basic element of socio-economic and ecologic al development is hard to overestimate.

In Central Asia, the use of water resources for the economic needs of humans began more than 6,000 years ago. From ancient times, the prosperity of the region was associated with irrigated agriculture dating back to 6 or 7 BC. The land was most intensively irrigated during the period 1960-1990, when the total irrigated area in the region increased up to 8.8 million hectares; today, irrigation accounts for more than 90 per cent of total water use. In Thjikistan per capita irrigated land constitutes only 0.117 ha, with arable land of 0.08 hectares, and this amount continues to decline due to population growth and urban development.

In this regard, an additional 880,000 ha of irrigated land will be needed for the country to provide its population with the required supply of agricultural products; consequently, additional water resources will be required. The significant increase in water resources usage can also be observed in power engineering. In the 1930s, a hydropower industry was established in the region. There are 45 hydropower stations in the Central Asian States that generate a total of 37.8 million kilowatts.

The world's total production of hydropower is 527.06 billion kilowatt hours per year. Tajikistan's hydropower capacity accounts for almost 4 per cent of it. Even with the current level of technology, it is technically and economically feasible for Tajikistan to increase its output to 260 billion kWh per year, half of the current world annual production. Its hydropower potential is equal to the total consumption of all kinds of power resources in the Central Asia region added together, and is four times higher than the region's energy consumption. Today, we use only about 5 per cent of the total volume. Under any scenario in the foreseeable future, the available potential will exceed the country's needs by many times. In this context, Tajikistan's hydropower engineering is definitely acquiring a regional significance. What is also important is that the cost of Tajik electric power is low (0.4 cents per kWh) and that the hydropower engineering is a renewable and ecologically sound source of power. Due to the fa ct that Tajikistan today, compared to the early 1990s, has significantly increased the share of electric power in its consumption structure, as opposed to mineral fuels, it has managed to drastically reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Export of hydropower energy or the development of Tajikistan's hydropower, in cooperation with other Central Asian States, will make it possible to address the issues of the Kyoto Protocol in the whole region.

In recent years, the ability of States to meet their long-term water needs has become an issue of ever-increasing priority in the region. Statistics over the past ten years show a temporary reduction in annual water consumption and some improvement in the quality of water resources. However, these tendencies are short-term in nature. At the same time, such factors as population growth, continuing degradation of the environmental protection of the water infrastructure and inadequacy of the instruments of water conservation may result in an increasing water resources shortage.

Under the circumstances, no country of the region is economically capable of dealing single-handedly with such issues as implementation of large-scale projects of population relocation from densely populated areas, creation of extra jobs and establishment of new infrastructure. These factors, as well as a common historical past, trans-boundary water basins and close economic ties, make it essential for Central Asian States to coordinate their efforts towards attaining effective, ecologically sound water usage on the basis of new, mutually coordinated principles, procedures and terms for water allocation.

These include recognition of the commonality and unity of water resources in the region, equal rights to their use, and responsibility for their rational consumption and protection. Meanwhile, joint efforts should be made to streamline the system, enhance the discipline of water usage, and develop relevant intergovernmental legal and regulatory statutes envisaging common regional guidelines for bearing expenses and losses. Only through integrated and unified efforts of all nations in Central Asia will sustainable water usage become a reality both in individual countries and in the entire region.

The specific terms for sharing trans-boundary water resources (rivers) should be defined by the nations through consultations, negotiations and signed agreements. It is equally important to keep improving the legal framework for intergovernmental cooperation, coordinate the legislation of the region's States in order to successfully enforce the reached agreements, develop the technical framework for water resources management, ensure a guaranteed water supply to consumers in the region, maintain the acceptable quality of water, and identify effective tools for addressing debatable issues.

Much has already been accomplished in this area. A number of agreements that regulate cooperation in joint management, protection and use of water resources have been signed and the major ones are: the Agreement among the Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan on Cooperation in the Area of Joint Management of Use and Protection of Water Resources of Inter-State Sources, 1992; the Agreement on Joint Efforts to Address the Issue of the Aral Sea Basin and the Aral Sea Territory (Priaralye), Ecological Rehabilitation and Social and Economic Development of the Aral Sea Basin, 1993; the Nukuss Declaration of the Central Asian States and International Organizations on Sustainable Development Issues in the Aral Sea Basin, 1995; Declarations on the Aral Sea Basin, Alma Ata (1997), Ashgabat (1999) and Dushanbe (2002); and the Agreement among the Governments of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on Utilization of hydropower Resources in the Syr Darya River Basin, 1998.

The implementation of provisions of the above agreements will require creation of a mechanism for regional cooperation on water resources management on the basis of equal rights and commitments. The development of a regional strategy, with the support of the United Nations, for efficient and effective utilization of Central Asia water resources is a major step in this direction. One of the fundamental components of the management system of the hydropower complex in the region is a regional system of management of hydropower engineering that incorporates the following principal institutional structures: the Intergovernmental Coordination Commission on Water Issues (with its own research and information centre), which defines general policy of utilization of hydropower resources in the region, addresses the issues of water-sharing.

It also approves annual operational regimes for hydropower units with reservoirs; "Syr Drya" and "Amu Darya" basin water associations (responsible for management of all major irrigation systems); and Hydro Power Council of Central Asia, with its executive agency, the Integrated Dispatching Center "Central Asia" (in charge of direct management of coordinated regimes of power systems).

Rehabilitation of the ecological, social and economic conditions in the Aral Sea basin requires special attention and coordinated efforts on the part of the nations of the region. To this end, they have established the International Fund for the Aral Sea. In 1994, Heads of the Central Asian nations also adopted the Inter-State concept that includes assessments and forecasts with regard to the situation in the Aral Sea basin and in the Aral Sea territory (Priaralye), and defines the scope of work to be done by the States, with the aim of improving the situation in the Aral Sea basin. The measures undertaken by the countries of the region have not yet halted the process of degradation either in the Aral Sea basin or on the adjacent territories. In view of this, the Heads of State, at the Dushanbe meeting held in October 2002, approved the "Major Directions of a Programme of Action for Rehabilitation of the Environmental and Social and Economic Situation in the Aral Sea Basin, 2003-2010". It is expected that th e Programme will deal with all major aspects of the crisis in the Aral Sea basin, and that its implementation will be instrumental in stopping the degradation processes. Given the seriousness of the crisis and its global ramifications, the Heads of State stated in the Dushanbe Declaration the need to set up a special UN Commission in charge of coordinating the activities of the international organizations and donor countries to address the problems of the Aral Sea basin.

Relevant consultations on the subject are currently being held with the United Nations and other international organizations. A balanced regional approach to dealing with common ecological problems also requires greater attention to environmental conditions on the mountainous territories where water flows originate. Among the most urgent problems that require joint efforts are: monitoring of glaciers and glacial feeding of rivers; sustainable development of woods in the mountainous areas; restoration and expansion of natural wood land; erosion monitoring on mountain slopes, especially in connection with development of irrigation in high mountainous valleys; and preventive measures and dealing with the consequences of landslides, etc.

The processes of regional ecological and economic integration also concern our immediate neighbour, Afghanistan, which has to deal with regional ecological and economic integration. It possesses a significant capacity to increase the water flow from the Amu Darya River basin. In view of the stabilization processes in this country, the realization of this potential will definitely influence the general situation of inter-state water sharing in the region. In this regard, the prompt involvement of Afghanistan in the collective work of developing the region's water resources will serve the mutual interests of all parties.

The existing problems, priorities, experience and prospects for cooperation of the Central Asian States in the area of water use will form the agenda of the International Freshwater Forum, to be held in Dushanbe in August 2003. We expect the Forum, which has been planned as one of the major events of the International Year of Freshwater 2003, to provide an excellent opportunity to its participants for sharing knowledge of and experience with dealing with water resources management and water problems at the national, sub-regional and other levels. The President and the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan are prepared to offer close and mutually advantageous cooperation with all the countries concerned.

Humanity should not forget about its direct link to two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen, which, being a part of nature, sustain life on Earth.